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Since I was a kid, the pressure to do well in school was laid on heavy by pretty much everyone in my life. 

Neither of my parents graduated from college but when the topic came up of my own education experience, there was never really a question of what my path would be. It was basically pre-decided for me that I would be going to college. 

My options are few. 

But that’s not exactly the fault of the people asking the question. Looking at the jobs that the world offers, most of the well-paying ones require a college degree. 

According to a 2021 government study, average earnings for people without a college degree in their 20s is $30,000 annually while people of the same age range with a degree make around $52,000.

Despite the fact that many jobs require a degree to make decent money, the degree itself costs a fortune. The average cost of attending a public, 4 year, in-state college in 2023 is around $26,000 per year. If you start looking at private colleges, the cost almost doubles. 

But it’s not just the price tag that discourages people from college; there are plenty of people that just don’t jive with a traditional education system that is offered in college. 

Friends have told me that college classes often give work that is — most of the time — self paced. This can present problems for people for a multitude of reasons.

People with mental disorders like ADHD might have a harder time with an increasing amount of self paced work compared to what they had been doing in high school. 

Regardless of any issues people might experience in college, the pressure to get a higher education is still laid onto kids deliberately by adults. Recently, college attendance has been declining, but that doesn’t mean there’s no stigma surrounding not going to college or dropping out.

It’s frustrating. 

While yes, I do plan on going on to college when I graduate high school, I don’t want to be there just because I have to.

There’s no quick-fix to this situation either. It’s not exactly easy to rewrite the whole education system or make it easier to get a job without a degree. 

All there really is to do is be irritated about it.